When Crowds Attack: Concert Edition

While Phoenix may not be known as a great baseball town on the level of St. Louis or New York, the local Diamondbacks faithful came out in full force during the recent MLB All-Star Game at Chase Field and definitely made its voice heard.

And that voice is pissed.

After feeling jilted on multiple levels by the all-star selection process, the Arizona fans rained down a haboob of boos on any player it deemed an enemy, especially Milwaukee Brewer Prince Fielder--who insulted us all when he left Diamondbacks slugger Justin Upton off of the homerun derby squad. The crowd even booed former Sun Devil and Phoenix native Andre Ethier just because the guy happens to now play for the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Local and national sports pundits are still somewhat befuddled by the degree of ferocity with which Arizona fans brought the hate on Monday and Tuesday nights.
But don't let this uproar fool you. Unruly crowds can appear anywhere. And not just in sports.

More than a musical performers have lost control of the audience after putting on a lackluster performance and/or otherwise angering the crazies in the crowd.

5. Kanye West, Bonnaroo 2008

After showing up two-hours late for an already ridiculously late start time (2:45 a.m.), Kanye was met with a hail of boos and chants of "Kanye sucks." While this type of treatment does not seem too outrageous, you have to consider the fact Kanye turned what had been a pretty loyal crowd (they showed at three in the morning, right?) into an angry, frothing mess.

4. Pavement, Lollapalooza 1995

Sometimes drugs and alcohol are not a musicians best friend. The indie rockers found that out when their incoherent, sloppy set inspired the crowd to toss mud and rocks in the band's direction.

Apparently, the audience had waited all day to let Fred Durst and company know exactly what it thought of them. What started with projectile plastic bottles and chants of "Fuck Fred Durst" ended with Durst challenging the crowd to a fight and the band exiting after only 17 minutes.

2. Creed, Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on December 29, 2002

Another tale of alcoholism gone wrong -- unlike those times when it goes, uh, right? According to a lawsuit filed by fans, Creed front man Scott Stapp took the stage so inebriated that he forgot the words to his songs and had to lay down. While Stapp's band mates affirmed the story, a Chicago judge threw out the suit. I say that is what you get for going to a Creed concert.

1. Tila Tequila, 11th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos

No one has faced a crowd quite as hostile as the one Tila Tequila had to deal with at the Gathering of the Juggalos in 2010. Apparently, the juggalos did not appreciate Ms. Tequila's presence as they immediately began pelting her with rocks, Faygo, excrement-soaked watermelons, and a slew of other items as soon as she took the stage. A couple of the projectiles hit Tequila and she sustained a few facial injuries. The attention whore reality star attempted to soothe the crowd by showing off her surgically enhanced assets, but the crowd would have none of it.

See, Arizonans are not all that bad. In fact, three out of the five incidents on this list took place in Illinois. I can't wait to see what kind of ruckus takes place when the All-Star Game hits the Windy City.